Drinking in a Hurricane

by Michael Y. Park

on 09/18/08 at 05:59 PM

I realize now that when I went over stockpiling food supplies before a disaster, I completely forgot one of the most important elements of successfully waiting out a hurricane, earthquake, blackout, or what have you: the booze.

Luckily, a New Orleans Times-Picayune columnist was good enough to put up something about how a little alcohol can go a long way in relieving the enormous stress of an occasion like Hurricane Katrina.

His favorites include something called a Cone of Probability (cinnamon schnapps and a cone of sugar, to be drunk every time the TV weatherman mentions the "cone of probability"), a Blue Tarp (blue curacao, pineapple juice and a splash of lime juice), the Flood Zone (2 oz. Kahlua, 2 oz. Baileys Irish Cream and 4 oz. rum served in a 6 oz. glass), Looters Will Be Shot (Jack Daniels, sarsaparilla, rock salt and a shotgun), and his own invention, the Cointreau-flow Challenge, named after the contraflow hurricane-evacuation plan (Cointreau, triple sec and lemon juice, drunk in your parked car).

Obviously, many of the drinks aren't meant to be taken seriously, but when you're sitting your basement waiting for what seems like the apocalypse to end, a little gallows humor can do wonders for morale (of course that also goes for not taking the joke too far, and drinking in moderation and only when it won't compromise your safety.)

Some other grimly appropriate cocktails I'd add to the list of ideal drinks to have on hand while waiting out a disaster:

I just remembered...
We actually invented a drink that we dubbed Hurricane Katrina
Drink 'Orange Hurricane' Boone's Farm down to the top of the label, then fill with vodka. Mix.

It is actually good.

steezbox
02:32:15 PM on
09/19/08

Aaaaaaaaaaahahhahahah I love it.!

We've come up with a whole bunch of drinks that you can make even when there are no glasses around. For example, Sabotage fits perfectly into a crockpot...

During our Ice Storm of '98 the drinks were a flowin too!

NorthNaplesCondo
11:10:14 AM on
09/19/08

Of course you can't mention alcohol and hurricanes with out explaining the drinking game played in Florida - you drink every time someone on the news says "hunker down!” The national news and weather channel tend to say it pretty frequently on their own, but you know when its a local newscaster (especially a younger one) they are saying it on purpose to get their friends at home to drink . . . it cracks us up every time we hear it, whether we are drinking or not. Do people in other states do this too?

jmorri26
09:45:19 AM on
09/19/08

I'm from New Orleans and living elsewhere and a few weeks back when Gustav was hitting, I called home to see how prepared my family was (they were staying through it) and my mom responded "We got lots of beer at the grocery store...were all set"

play_with_food
06:49:38 AM on
09/19/08

I am saving these drink recipes for the next tropical depression. Truth is, the time for drinking is during the cleanup (exhaustion,sore muscles, depression, frustration), and you need a drink that doesn't require ice since that will be at a premium.

maryruth00
11:24:07 PM on
09/18/08

I was living on Maui when Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992. Since I wasn't much of a news-watcher I didn't know that trouble was blowing my way.
After I dropped my boyfriend off at the dive shop he worked at, I went across the street to the neighborhood grocery. I remember wondering why the parking lot was PACKED at 7am. I figured something was up when I noticed the sunburned tourist in front of me in the checkout line had like six gallons of booze, a bunch a beer and tons of salty snacks. Same thing at the other checkouts. I asked what was up and found out about the hurricane. Of course I picked up a couple cases of beer for my rations and went back across the street and picked up the boyfriend who definitely was not going diving that day. The oceanfront restaurant I worked at closed that day too.
The funny thing is that while the tourists buy all the booze, the local people buy up all the rice. It flies off the shelves. When I lived in Wisconsin, the pre-blizzaard frenzy was for toilet paper and bread. Go figure.